Archive for November 29th, 2012

Las Vegas Valley is full of a lot of half-finished buildings and structures that were shelved during the real estate bubble. But local developers are seeing potentials behind these unfinished projects and are buying them. These developers have the intention of finishing the projects themselves and hope to gain big profits behind these deals. These structures are being sold with discounted construction costs and cheap prices.

But getting them off the market is not that simple. Sometimes the procedure can take too long and can be too costly. According to Mike Montandon, Former Maryor and managing director for Voit Real Estate Services, there are times when the process can even seem next to impossible.

The procedure for buying out these kinds of properties in Las Vegas Valley involves the “buyer” identifying the “seller.” This may sound simple enough but can be a bit complicated especially if the property had been foreclosed by the bank and already been auctioned off. Another thing the “buyer” must check the property’s debt load and find out “who owes who what?”

Safety is another concern; the buyer should see how sound the structure is to continue with the project. Other issues will be the piping, wiring connections, and validity of the construction permits. And naturally, the buyer should need to check on the demand for the finish product.

Las Vegas is known to have a very dry climate and very low humidity, this help minimize sun damage to open and exposed construction sites. Although rust can still attack the metal, it’s easily scraped off or sandblasted. Another issue is rain; this can cause corrosion, mold and raise other concerns. Theft is also another issue on the list. Some piping or wiring connections will attract thieves because of their value so these unfinished projects are usually fenced off.

The mothballed projects across the valley are mostly residential projects. Some of these projects with still unknown futures include the St. Regis Residences, a 68-story Faontainebleau, a 113-condo Mercer project, the 400-luxury-unit Spanish View Towers.